


Tales from Thedas: The Inquisition

by NekoNomi



Series: Tales From Thedas [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Aethism, Appearances by other origins, F/F, F/M, Isana Cadash, Kos Addar, M/M, Mage!Inquisitor, Multi, Qunari Terminology, Qunquistor, Religion, Saare Adaar, Varric's Nicknames, chapters not in chronological order
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-02-28 09:02:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2726564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoNomi/pseuds/NekoNomi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Qunari mage who may or may not be sent by the Maker. The Left and Right hands of the White Divine. A former templar hiding some very personal secrets. An Antivan Diplomat. A grey warden recruiter. An elven hedge-mage. A former companion of the Champion of Kirkwall. One of Red Jenny's Friends. A tevinter mage. A conflicted member of the Ben-Hassrath. The personal enchanter to the Empress of Orlais. And a spirit struggling to understand the world around him.</p><p>No-one expects the Inquisition.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Conflicted

They called her the Herald of Andraste. Saare wasn't so sure about that, but it seemed to bring the people comfort to think of her as such, so she did not complain too loudly when she was addressed as such. She would not lie when asked directly though. She did not know what had happened in the fade, who the woman had been whom they saw with her in those moments before the rift closed behind her. She did not recall any of what had happened that day, or indeed in the days leading up to the explosion which had destroyed the temple of sacred ashes. Not that it mattered. No-one was interested in why she had been there, in the fact that the people of the conclave had not been the only ones destroyed in that blast. The Valo-kas had lost good people that day. Saare had found only bodies where she knew her people would have been stationed. Some were missing, those who had been stationed away from the main temple, but with each passing day, Saare lost hope of finding them alive and began to hope simply to find them so that she might give them a proper send off.

"Why the long face?" Varric came up behind her, leaning against the low stone wall on which Saare sat. "All Qunari have them" She replied. Varric snorted, an amused smile upon his face, "Seriously though, what's eating at you?". Saare sighed "I don't even know any more." She admitted, staring down at her left hand, the hand which held a power which no-other had. "Everyone's making me out to be some big important person, the one whose going to save us all. I don't know if I can live up to that..." "You kinda already have you know." Varric replied. Saare turned to give him a confused look. "Think about it. You walked physically in the fade and came out of it alive and at least mostly sane". Saare pulled a face "Thanks". "What can I say, I don't think anyone around here's playing with a full deck. If we were, we'd have run screaming by now. Anyway, my point is, you've done a lot of good already. You helped those refugees in Red Cliff. You're the one who convinced Dennet to give his best stock to the Inquisition, and arranged everything he needed to feel safe sending them here. You got Cullen and the Seeker to quit snapping at each other's throats and work towards actually getting something done. You hired on the Chargers and you were the one who thought to get someone to make a Crest of Mercy so you could fight that guy for the leadership of the Blades of Hessarian rather than just killing them all." Varric tapped a finger against the stone "Not many folks would have done that"

"I suppose" Saare stared up at the skies, the heavy clouds glowing green from the breach. "It still doesn't feel like enough". "It never does kid" Varric put a hand against her arm for a moment. "It never does.... Now, how about you come and play a hand of wicked grace? We need a good fourth". Saare smiled "Alright then" Collecting her staff from where it rested against a pillar, the qunari woman followed the dwarf back into the tavern. Brooding would do her no good, but perhaps a bit of time having fun with her new friends might.


	2. A girl and her mount

They had all thought her a little crazy, spending so much of her savings on an unknown item from a rather shady seeming merchant in Val Royeaux. It was her own money however, savings from before the inquisition, in her days leading a company of the Valo-kas, and her share of the coin she and her companions made during their travels. The lion's share of course went into the Inquisition's coffers, to be spent as was needed in the pursuit of their cause. But they all got a share from what was left, and Saare had been saving hers, and nothing the others said would persuade her not to spend the gold on the mystery item.

When the man had revealed the golden nug statue, it had seemed as though the money had been wasted. Then they learned what the item truly was. Many of the group still thought it wasted, but there was no denying that the statue had worked perfectly for it's use as a lure, and there was no denying that Saare, who had been so serious and stressed of late, had lit up like a gleeful child when she had gone down to the stables and Master Dennet had introduced her to the newest member of their stables.

"Hello Beautiful" The qunari woman spoke softly the beast in the corral. Her mount had been allowed out today in the freedom of the flat open bit of land which had been set aside for allowing the inquisition's mounts to stretch their legs. The massive nug ambled over to, her lips moving against the palm she held out, quickly finding the greenery treat which Saare had brought for it from the gardens. "You know, I wasn't sure what to think about her when we got her, but seeing you with her, I can't think of a more perfect pair" Josephine leaned against the fence of the corral, elbows resting on the top as she watched her lover interact with the animal. "She's not exactly regal, I'll give you that" Saare replied, looking at the antivan woman for a moment before returning to petting the Battle Nug "But she suits me just fine".

"That she does" Josephine went silent for a time, watching the mage fussing over the giant nug. The dark beast was not what she would have picked for the inquisitor's mount. Had Saare been an elf or a human, she would doubtless have picked out a fine bred horse of some variety. A qunari, being larger in almost all regards, would have needed a different approach, seeking out the finest bloodlines in the largest of war horses. And Saare had ridden one for a time, but she had never bonded with it the way that she had bonded with the nug. 

When they had acquired the Red Hart, Josephine had thought that they might have found a suitable mount, but the beast had taken a strong liking to Solas, enough so that Saare had insisted that Solas take the hart was his mount. The elhven mage might prefer to walk where possible, but they all needed a mount at times and the Hart was happy to oblige when needed, and follow Solas around the rest of the time. Cassandra would have preferred a horse, but the Basking Longma which the Inquisition had acquired had decided that she would be it's rider and violently pushed away any other mount who got close to the seeker. So far none of the other members of Saare's inner circle had picked up something unusual for a mount, but Josephine thought it only a matter of time before she was having to find reasons to give to the nobility why none of the Inquisitor's closest people were riding a simple mundane horse as would be expected of them.

Still, when she watched Saare with her nug, it wasn't something she minded having to do. With so much weight resting on Saare's shoulders, Josie would take on tasks a great deal more complicated for something so simple which made her mage so happy.

"Hey Boss" The Iron Bull's gravelly tones called out as the massive qunari male approached "I got the horn oil" The bottle looked ridiculously small and delicate in the mercenary's powerful hand. "You need some help?" Technically the oil was meant for them, but the Bull had no problem with giving up some of their supply to tend to the horns of Saare's beloved mount. The Bull cared a great deal for the vashoth woman and he had some inkling of the stresses she was under and if the nug made her happy, who was he to deny her what it needed to be content?

"Let me" Josephine took the bottle of oil from the Bull and stepped through the gate, walking carefully over the loose sand which floored the corral, keeping the various mounts from freezing their feet when they were allowed out to roam the area. Bull followed her, closing the the gate behind him. Saare watched silently as the massive mercenary showed the diplomat how to correctly rub oil into living horn. The mage didn't say a word as she took some of the oil and began tending to the nug's other horn, a small smile playing over her face as she watched them. It felt to be a perfect moment, and was something which needed to be savored in this time of chaos.


	3. Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It isn't until they reach the Winter Palace that Josephine and Leliana realize where they went wrong.

The thing people forgot, as they watched the Inquisitor roll up her sleeves and chop firewood for the camp, or get stuck into some needed task in whichever nameless little hamlet they had stopped in for a couple of hours, or dance gracefully across the battlefield, moving with the effortless grace of someone who knew exactly what they could ask of their body, was that she had a trio of advisers for a reason. She was not a politician, or a spy, nor a commander of armies. Yes, once upon a time she had been in command of others, and her experience as the leader of the Valo-Kas Arvaarad was useful in the field, people often forgot that she was not and had never been the commander of the Valo-kas as a whole, but instead had lead a small sub-section of what had been a large and organised group. When it came to the deployment of armies and what such large groups needed, she was reliant upon Cullen and his experience. Just as she leaned heavily upon Jose's intricate knowledge of the nobility of Thedas, and made thorough use of Leliana's contacts, which were far more extensive than her own.

Even her own people sometimes forgot just how heavily the Qunari woman relied upon them. While Saare had never been afraid to say no when she thought a plan was wrong, or to pitch her own ideas, and actively worked to gain her own base of knowledge in these areas so that she could more readily contribute to the discussions on what the Inquisition should be doing with the power and influence it was gathering. Still, she trusted her people, and when they said that something must be done in a certain way to ensure they achieved their goal, than Saare was going to follow their directions.

So really, they had no-one to blame but themselves for not noticing that Saare was unhappy about the preparations for their excursion to the Ball at the Winter Palace.  
\----------------  
When Vivienne had learned that Saare did not know any of the formal dances, the elder mage had immediately set bout fixing this oversight. With Iron Bull and Kos the only two tall enough to partner her as the lead, Vivienne had instead enlisted Josephine, Lelianna and a few of the mages whom she had previous known in the Circles, to teach Saare how to dance the part of lead. Cassandra had also been drafted, but the other woman had swiftly manged to escape the clutches of the First Enchanter, though not before proving that she remembered all the steps to the dances she had learned in her childhood.

The interruption by the tailor Josephine had hired, was something of a relief for Saare. Being a Knight-Enchanter kept her more fit than many mages, who became soft and slow in their academia, but dancing like this was a while new kind of exercise and they had been at it for hours now. The comments from the sideline provided by Bull, Dorian, Varric and Kos hadn't helped either. The woman shot the quartet a glare as she followed Josephine and Vivienne to where the man was setting out examples of cloth.

Lelianna only caught the look on Saare's face out of the corner of her as they looked over the cloth samples and settled on a bright crimson and gold. The expression was gone when the spymaster turned to look at the mage curiously, and the change was convincing enough that it almost had her wondering if her eyes had been playing tricks on her.

"Are you sure about these?" Saare asked as she rubbed the crimson cloth between her fingers and eyed the mock-up of the uniform they would be wearing. Josephine caught the way the Qunari's eyes lingered on the brown and gold cloth, but thought nothing of it.

"Yes" Josephine said, with all the authority of her position as the Ambassador of the Inquisition. "We must present a united front to the court. Anything less will invite 'trouble' to see us out"

Saare nodded, with a touch of reluctance which none of the others thought anything about. Josephine had a good point.

"We will use the cloth. Add a sash to the outfit. This blue." Josephine began telling the tailor what was needed, as Saare was once more claimed for dance lessons.  
\----------------  
In the residence where they had been staying for the night before the Ball, Saare stared with distaste at the uniform which rested on the bed, waiting for her to put it on.

"It's not that bad, is it?" Josephine asked softly, closing the door quietly behind herself as she slipped into the room. The antivan woman had not been a Bard in the Orlesian sense of the word for a long time, but many of those skills were still with her. "I know dealing with the nobility is something of a trial at times, but we must speak with the empress."

"I know" Saare replied "And I know this is the only way we can get close enough to her to warn her but I-" Her words were cut off by a loud knocking on the door, and a shout from someone, probably Varric, to hurry up so they could get this thing over with. The dwarf was very nearly as grumpy as Cassandra at being made to attend the Ball, but Saare had a gut feeling that she was going to need them to get through this nightmare with what remained of her sanity intact.  
\----------------  
It was not until Saare entered the ballroom for the second time that she discovered where Josephine was. She paused for just a moment outside of Josephine's line of sight, hearing her speaking softly with the woman next to her. Their voices were not loud enough to be heard over the sound of the crowd, but Saare's hearing was better than that of a human, and she could catch the tone of their conversation, one of annoyance hiding deep affection. It was the same tone she got when Kos annoyed her, a side-effect of growing up together, close as any blood-siblings would have been.

She had to lift a hand to cover her smile as she was introduced to Yvette. There was something delightful about the woman, and Saare was happy to stop and chat with her for a while. Josephine interrupted every time the conversation turned towards the woman's exploits as a child, but there were enough hints at stories that Saare was determined she would get them out of her lover at some point in the future.

"Personally I think the lace cuff has had it's day" Saare replied to Yvette, not seeing the puzzled expression on Josephine's face as the qunari woman spoke on the topic of fashion. She wasn't up to date with the latest trends, but she spoke knowledgeably on quality and suitability of cuts and colour with Josephine's baby sister. Regretfully Saare was not able to stay long, needing to make a new round of the ballroom, and return to trying to figure out the mysteries and intrigues of the palace.

She didn't see the way Josephine watched her leave, and expression like something was almost but not quite falling into place for her. Or the way the woman excused herself to her sister to go and find Leliana.  
\----------------  
"I don't think I've ever seen her wearing a dress" Leliana said once Josephine had come to her. "She's always wearing breeches and shirts around Skyhold"

"Yes, those are all that she has in her closet, and not many of them either" Josephine regretted that it had never occurred to her just how little their inquisitor had to her name. Much of what she had once owned had been lost in Haven, and none of them had thought about whether or not Saare had replaced those things. It was only now that Josephine thought about it, that she realized how worn many of Saare's things had become. How many times had she sat with Saare before the hearth and talked, the other woman listening as she applied thread and needle to some item of clothing. She had thought it simply a hold over of having to do such tasks for herself for so long, but was it perhaps more than that? Had Saare, like her, simply never thought that perhaps something was wrong with how things were.

"The way she has been watching the ladies however... There is something there" Leliana spoke. The red head made a decisive gesture "Leave it with me Jose. I will work this out"  
\----------------  
When it was all over, Josephine found Saare standing on one of the balconies. The qunari woman was leaning against the stone railing, arms folded as she watched the setting sun.

"I'm sorry" Josephine began, and then stopped as Saare held up a hand. Though the woman had tried her best to clean it off, the signs of battle could still be seen upon her skin, and no amount of quick cleaning could be rid of the flecks of blood which had spotted her clothing, or the burn which ran up one sleeve.

"What are you apologizing for?" Saare asked softly "I'm the one who couldn't keep this from bloodshed." Though the Duchess's assassination attempt had failed, Florianne's machinations exposed before the court, and the woman taken into custody, there were bodies left scattered throughout the palace.

"That's not what I meant" Josephine said "I meant I'm sorry I didn't..." She trailed off, not certain how to word what she wanted to say and then charged ahead, knowing how Saare valued honesty from those she was close to. And who could call themselves closer to her than one of her lovers? "I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to you. I'm sorry we didn't ask you what you thought about what we made you wear"

Saare snorted, combination of amusement and exhausted exasperation. "You all forget sometimes that just because I fight like a barbarian, doesn't mean I am one" Vivienne had commented one more than one occasion about Saare's tendency to not just lead from the front, as was proper for a knight-enchanter, but actively draw aggression from whomever they were fighting. "I've never had nice things, not like these" She waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the ballroom "They don't make clothing like that for someone like me. Besides, you were right, we needed to appear united, and we did. Celene is alive and she's going to work with Gaspard and Briala to make peace. Florianne's been arrested. All in all, not the worst result we've had for a day's work" There was a self deprecating smile on her face.

"Still" Josephine put a hand gently on Saare's arm "I should have listened. I should have seen that you weren't happy. And I'm sorry for that. I can't fix that now, but, perhaps, when we return to Skyhold, we can see about getting someone to make you a dress to wear for the next time we have a formal function."

Saare smiled "You don't have to do that, but it's a nice thought" Turning, she held out her hands to the smaller woman "I know something you can do to make it up to me right now though" Saare said, tone soft and wanting "After all the practice, we still haven't had a proper dance" She and Bull had done a turn about the dance floor early in the proceedings, taking the opportunity to scope out the ballroom and reporting their findings to each other afterwards. However, she hadn't had a chance to dance with Josephine.

The music which still played in the ballroom became a little louder, and Saare lifted her eyes to see Iron Bull standing at the doorway. The man had opened it just a little, letting the sound flow freely, and now stood guard, keeping them from being interpreted. He nodded to her with a smile, and Saare smiled and nodded back. Gently, she took Josephine into her arms and began to move to the music, enjoying the feeling of Josephine in her arms, and the company of the two people she cared for most.


End file.
